Following last Wednesday's tragic shooting in a Tulsa, Oklahoma hospital, in which a disgruntled patient killed two doctors, a receptionist, and another patient before turning the gun on himself, yet another violent attack on healthcare workers unfolded at a hospital in the Los Angeles area on Friday.
Ashcan Amir Soleimani, 35, was identified as the suspect involved in the latest attack, in which an emergency department physician and two staff nurses were stabbed at Engine Hospital Medical Center, according to the Los Angeles Police Department's Twitter account. He was booked on three counts of attempted murder, and his bail was set at $3 million.
Though a motive for the stabbings was not immediately clear, the suspect allegedly walked into the hospital's emergency department on Friday afternoon and asked for treatment for anxiety, the Associated Press reported. He proceeded to stab a doctor and two nurses, and then barricaded himself in a room for hours while LAPD and SWAT teams negotiated with him and ultimately removed him from the facility on a stretcher with what appeared to be self-inflicted injuries on his arms.
The doctor and two nurses stabbed during the attack were stabilized and immediately transferred to the nearest trauma center, Dignity Health's Northridge Hospital Medical Center, said Elizabeth Niels, a spokesperson for Prime Healthcare, which runs Engine Hospital, in an emailed statement to Med Page Today.
Over the weekend, KABC-TV reported that two of the victims had been treated and released, and that the third victim remained hospitalized in fair but stable condition, according to Northridge Hospital.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said in a press conference on Friday that there is no evidence that the suspect in the stabbing knew the three victims, AP reported. The suspect has a lengthy criminal record, Hamilton noted, including two arrests last year for battery of a police officer and resisting arrest.
Healthcare providers previously noted a number of risk factors that stand out in these situations, pointing out that there are specific measures that can be taken to prevent such events.
Following last week's mass shooting in Tulsa, W. Michael hooted, MD, an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told Med Page Today that when it comes to patient-on-provider violence, there are key areas that tend to be more problematic, including situations in which a patient is dissatisfied with their care and when there are changes made to care in the provision of opioids, as well as situations involving workers' compensation litigation.
It's not just physicians who can raise a red flag for signs of distress, frustration, and erratic behavior among patients, hooted said, but also nurses and the entire medical staff, including those checking patients in for appointments.
After Tulsa, which involved the same-day purchase of an AR-15-style rifle, the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians were among a bevy of medical groups that called for action to address the nation's epidemic of gun violence.
Ultimately, healthcare professionals have said their voices are critical to bringing change, and that recent acts of violence against their field are not isolated.
In Engine, Niklas said that counseling services have been arranged for staff or physicians in need.
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